Always There
by TimeLordMaster108
Summary: One-Shot set during The Stone Of Cold Fire. When Mama Swimmer is left distraught by Ducky's abduction she soon discovers that her friends and family are always there to lend a comforting hand during a time of crisis.


**(AN: Hello there, TimeLordMaster108 here with a brand new story.**

 **This is the first of two one-shots set during two of the movies. This one is set during the events of Stone Of Cold Fire and features the main adults trying to help comfort Mama Swimmer after Ducky has been snatched.**

 **Disclaimer, I don't own The Land Before Time, all chara and locations are owned by Universal Pictures and Sullivan Bluth Studios. I also don't own Merri who belongs to Beucephalis.**

 **So without much delay, let's get started.**

* * *

 **The Land Before Time**

 **Always There**

* * *

Arial slept uneasy that night. Earlier in the day, she had discovered that her brother and Petrie's uncle Pterano had come to the Great Valley accompanied by two Flyers, and that they'd been talking with the Children. She gazed down at Petrie who had fallen out with his friends after they'd tried warning him that Pterano was dangerus.

"Petrie!, please try to understand," Arial was saying, "I do love my brother, but he just-

"No!, you wrong Mama," insisted Petrie, "Pterano no bad. He Flyer, they always right. There no such thing as bad Flyer, just like there no bad Swimmers."

"Nobody is ever right all the time Petrie," explained his Mom before chuckling, "Not even Mr Threehorn, as much as he claims to always be right."

"AHHHHH!, put me down!" shrieked a terrified, but all to familiar voice.

At this Petrie and Arial jumped up and ran over to the cave entrance with looks of confusion.

"I am not a Flyer," screamed the voice, now much closer, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!, HELP!"

The two Flyers gasped in horror as Pterano flew by, following just behind were his two Flyer friends. Petrie however didn't notice him, both he and his Mom gasped in horror as they saw that struggling in the grasp of the brown Flyer was a small light green Swimmer.

"Ducky!" cried Arial in horror.

The two watched on in utter shock as the three dinosaurs flew higher into the sky, towards the Night Circle.

"HELP!, HELP!, HHHHEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLP!" shrieked the Swimmer in terror.

"Where she going?" asked Petrie in confusion.

"wherever your Uncle and the other Flyers are taking her!" stated Littlefoot as he ran up to them, panting breathlessly.

Petrie gasped in horror. He was still convinced that Pterano was good and had nothing to do with this. The brown Pteranodon flew down to Littlefoot's eye level.

"No!, you wrong!" argued Petrie in annoyance, " Pterano never do-

"No Petrie it's true!" interupted Arial, "It is Pterano!"

"No!" whimpered the young Flyer in a small and broken voice as he slumpped down on to Littlefoot's head.

"Littlefoot, keep an eye on Petrie for me!" said Ariel, "I'm going to go find Ducky's Mom and let her know what's happening."

And with that Ariel swooped off the ledge and began gliding through the sky. She began scanning the ground, watching as various residents ran about in a panic. However she couldn't see any sign of Sura.

"DUCKY!, DUCKY DEAR, WHEAR ARE YOU?" shouted a familiar panicky voice.

The Flyer suddenly spotted Sura running about, calling out Ducky's name and looking very scared and worried. Ariel imediatly glided down towards her and touched down in front of Sura.

"Ariel!," cried Sura in relief, but still sounding scared, "Have you seen Ducky anywhere?, I woke up and she wasn't in her sleeping spot. And now I can't find her anywhere!"

Sura noticed the Flyer shifting uncomfartably. But before anything could be said, there came a small splash from the lake as if something had landed in it.

The two Leaf Eaters instantly raced over to the lake and spotted Littlefoot pulling his head out of the water, a soaking wet and betrayed looking Petrie lay slumped on his snout, the Flyer gently hopped off and slumped on to the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!, HELP!, HELP!, HHHHEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLP!"

Littlefoot and Petrie gasped and looked up in horror. Sura and Ariel followed their gaze and saw the three Flyers heading into the Mysterious Beyond.

"Where is Ducky?" cried Sura as she rounded on the two kids.

Petrie let out a loud wail. "Ducky gone!" he lamented.

"Gone!" said Sura, her eyes widening in horror.

"Those Flyers took her." said Littlefoot, pointing his snout towards the three Flyers.

"Why me Uncle Pterano take her?" cried Petrie who was in tears and completley shattered from his betrayal.

"Pterano?, he's kidnapped Ducky?" asked Sura in horror, the fear and panic rising into an overwhelming torrent.

At this point Spike had arrived with Ducky's other siblings. They were also followed by Littlefoot's Grandparents, Cera, Topsy, Merie and Petrie's siblings, and they were gasping in horror and shock.

Sura swayed on the spot before suddenly toppling to the ground with a loud thud.

"Mommy, are you okay?" asked Opal in shock and concern.

Ariel peered down at her friend and then gave the Swimmer children and Spike a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry kids, she's just passed out," explained Ariel, "Poor dear!, this obviously came as quite a shock."

"Ariel, get some Flyers and get after them!" said Topsy.

Not needing to be told twice, the Flyer took off into the sky, and soon gathered up some other Flyers and began scouting the area that Pterano and his friends had flown across. However after almost an hour they were unable to find anything, and returned to the Valley with the news.

* * *

The next day a meeting was called. Ariel arrived with her family, she felt guilty about not being able to stop those Flyers and the irritated and terrified face Sura showed didn't help. Neither did the loud chatter from the adults.

"Look!, those Flyers have taken my daughter," cried Sura in a distraught voice as she glared at Ariel, "And I want her back, before... before-

The Big Mouth instantly broke down into silent sobbing, covering her face with her hands. Ariel gave her friend a sympathetic smile and placed a comforting wing on her beak.

"Don't worry, my brother may be many bad things, but he would never let those others harm her." assured the Flyer.

"Bahh!, we couldn't trust him before and we can't trust him now!," retorted Topsy in irritation, "And why didn't somebody tell me Pterano was talking with the young ones?"

The Threehorn instantly glared down at Cera who gasped and shrunk back slightly, a nervous look plastered on her face. "Cera." he growled in a dangerous tone.

"I- I uh thought that you would be angry." explained Cera nervously.

"Angry?, angry. Ohhh i'm not angry," seethed Mr Threehorn in a dangerous tone, sounding as though he was about to blow his top, "I'M FURIOUS!"

At this the Triceratops went up on his hind legs and brought his front feet slamming down to the ground with a loud thud, which sent Cera and her friends running in fright.

"You cannot blame the children Mr Threehorn," stated Grandpa Longneck firmly, "They didn't know Pterano was so dangerous. They wern't even with us when it all happened."

The other dinosaurs began murmering aongst themselves. Littlefoot looked to his Grandparents in confusion.

"When what all happened?" asked Littlefoot in confusion, "Nobody tells us anything."

"Littlefoot is right," stated Grandma Longneck before lowering her head down to Ariel, "I know this will be painful for you!"

The Flyer simply sighed in sadness, she now looked downtrodden.

"It is time they knew the truth." sighed Ariel.

"Well!" began Littlefoot's Grandfather, "It all began not long after you little ones were seperated from us in the Great Earthshake."

Littlefoot and the others sat down, intrigued. Spike however looked sadly down to where Ducky normaly sat.

"We too set out to find the Great Valley," continued Grandpa Longneck, "And as now we made our decisions as a group, not one opinion outweighed the others. But Pterano didn't like being part of the herd, he wanted to be in charge of it. For some reason he felt he always knew more than the rest of us!"

"Maybe he know more because he fly up high," interupted Petrie, "See stuff others couldn't see."

"Shhh!" hissed Cera as she shot an annoyed face at the young Flyer.

The elderly Longneck loudly cleared his throat, causing the kids to look back at him.

"As I was saying!" continued Grandpa Longneck, "For some reason some of the herd believed Pterano. Soon he led them away from the rest of us!, they were sure he had all the answers, they were sure that he would never lead them astray."

The gang noticed that the two Longnecks looked grim, tears were leaking from their eyes. The group turned and saw Kosh and several other residents looking distraught. Cera suddenly saw her dad looking down at the ground, a mixture of anger and grief was etched across his face.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked the Threehorn in concern.

Grandpa Longneck looked apologeticaly at Topsy. He knew this next part would be extremely difficult.

"However, they were wrong," continued the Longneck in a saddened tone, "During the journey they came to a large mountain area, when suddenly they were ambushed by a trio of Sharpteeth."

The kids gasped in absolute horror, Petrie fainted and whimpered slightly.

"The group panicked, and didn't know what to do," explained Grandma Longneck, "They hoped that Pterano would help, that he would lead them out of danger. But he simply watched in fear before flying away. Every single member of that group was murdered by those Sharpteeth, except for one Big Mouth who ended up falling off a cliff."

"And that... is what happened to your Mother and siblings Cera," explained Topsy in a quiet,distraught and broken voice, "She decided to follow that beak-face, I tried to argue against it, begged her not to. But she refused to listen, and told me that I needed to interact with others and be friendly. She then left with your sisters and brother. She made it back to our resting place... but heavily wounded, she repeated what she said before leaving and made me promise to join the others and said life was worth living."

The Threehorn then uncharacteristicaly broke down into loud, heavy sobbing.

Cera felt as though the whole world was crumbling beneath her, she felt empty and imediatley slumped to the grass and cried silently.

Petrie was now avoiding the Threehorn's gaze.

"Shortly after that Pterano returned and explained to us what had happened," said Grandpa Longneck in a grim voice, "He never told us why it happened, only that it wasn't his fault. We never saw any of the others again!"

"But he right!" cried Petrie, "It not his fault that others no know how to fly away!"

"Nevertheless, it was his fault that they got into such danger." explained Grandpa Longneck firmly, noticing Cera and her dad glaring at the Flyer in anger.

"A real leader must be willing to take the credit when things are good," explained Grandma Longneck, "And the blame when things go bad."

"But not Pterano, oh no!" snapped Topsy in anger, "He just kept changing his story and lying and scheming and-

"Quiet! QUIET!" yelled Sura in a distraught voice while marching up to the Threehorn, "We all know what happened before. But right now somebody has to go and rescue my little Ducky."

"Umm... yes, my point exactly!" spluttered Mr Threehorn.

"Littlefoot we need you to tell us exactly where to find that Flying Rock?" explained Ariel.

"Oh no!, not that nonsense again!" groaned Topsy in irritation.

"Wether or not I believe there is such a thing as a Stone of Cold Fire, that is where they will go," retorted Ariel in an impatient manner, "Am I right?"

Topsy simply grumbled before nodding.

"Go ahead Littlefoot, tell us!" urged Grandma Longneck.

The young Longneck beamed in delight.

"It flew right over Threehorn Peak," explained Littlefoot, "And landed somewhere just behind it."

The Adults all began chattering amongst themselves.

"Behind Threehorn Peak," cried Kosh in horror, "We couldn't go there, that area is filled with Sharpteeth and the Smoking Mountains."

"Mr Clubtail is right, we can't go there," explained Topsy, "It's far too dangerous, and if this rock does exist which it likley dosn't, it probably landed on top of one of the Smoking Mountains."

"But those Flyers have Ducky," barked Sura on the verge of tears, "And if we don't get her back... then I don't know what i'll do. I've already lost Ruphus, I can't loose one of my babies!"

"I'm sorry Sura, but it's just to risky!" argued the Threehorn, "It would be even more stupid if just one of us went."

Sura instantly broke down and began sobbing loudly. She then ran straight out of the Rock Circle.

"Sura wait!" cried Meri as she chased after her sister with Sura's other children following.

The adults continued to argue and failed to notice the kids slipping away from the area.

* * *

After the meeting Ariel went and perched herself on a small tree branch. She couldn't shake the growing worry for Ducky, and felt incredibly guilty. The Flyer cursed herself for not imediatly going after her brother and his two friends. She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by the sound of running footsteps, and looked down to see a worried Merri running towards her.

"Merri, what is it?" asked Ariel in concern.

"It's Sura, I can't find her anywhere," explained Merri in concern, "I went back to the Nest to speak to her, but she was nowhere to be seen."

Ariel's face took on a worried expression. The last time she had seen the Swimmer, she had been upset and terrified about Ducky's fate. The Pteranodon gasped in horror as she realised where Sura was.

"Oh no!, I know what Sura's trying to do," stated Ariel in horror, "We have to stop her."

Ariel took off into the sky and flew towards the North entrence with Merri following behind her. As they neared the path that led out into the Mysterious Beyond, Ariel's keen eyesight spotted a familiar brown skinned Swimmer heading out of the Valley.

Sura jumped slightly as Ariel suddenly landed in front of her. She turned the other way and saw Merri heading towards her before stopping.

"Sura, what do you think you're doing?" asked Merri in concern.

"What does it look like? i'm heading out to Threehorn Peak to rescue my daughter," explained Sura, "Since nobody else seems to care."

"Of course we care," stated Ariel, "I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Longneck will convince Mr Threehorn. So please just stop!"

"Sura, you're not in a fit state to go out there," explained Merri in desperation, "You're going crazy with worry and aren't thinking straight. If you go out there, you'll end up getting yourself hurt or worse killed!"

"I don't care!" snapped the Swimmer, "My little Ducky is in danger from those Flyers, and you've got no idea how I feel."

"I'm worried too Sura, Ducky's my Neice remember." stated Sura's sister firmly.

"And how dare you say we wouldn't understand," retorted Ariel, "I would feel exactly how you feel if it was Petrie being kidnapped, or any of my other children. They're all I have left, since the rest of my family are dead, my brother's corrupt, and my Mate and three of my children died when Petrie was just a baby."

Sura stood there not knowing what to say and absorbing everything her friend had just said. Without warning the Duckbill fell to her knees and sobbed loudly into her hands. Merrie and Ariel imediatly went over and hugged her.

"I'm s-sorry!" stuttered Ducky's Mom, "I-I just want my little Ducky back!"

"It's okay, we understand," replied the Flyer in a comforting voice, "Everything will be alright. You'll have Ducky back, I promise. Now let's get back to your nest, and get some rest. I should be the one apologising though, if I had just chased after those Flyers, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"It's okay Ariel." assured Sura.

Sura calmed herself and struggled to her feet. She was then escorted back to her Nesting Area by Merrie and Ariel. Sura settled down into her Sleeping Spot and after a few minutes fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sura woke up after a couple of hours and was now watching over her other children with Merri. She assumed that Spike was still playing with the others and didn't realise that he and his friends had went afte Ducky themselves.

Sura got to her feet and decided to take a walk.

"Sura?" asked Merri uncertainly.

"I'm okay, I just need some time alone." replied Sura with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

Sura walked until she found herself in a secluded part of the Stream and sat down. Sura let out a few choked sobs. She was deeply worried about Ducky and hoped that she wouldn't loose her. It wasn't that long ago that Ruphus had left her after discovering that Ducky was friends with a Sharptooth which led to a massive argument, a viscous brawl and finaly Ruphus storming off, never to be seen again. This event had already taken its toll on Sura and now with Ducky missing, she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Ariel landed near her and gave Sura a sympathetic smile which she returned. Sura suddenly stood up and wiped her tears away as the bush began rustling. The Flyer began hovering in the air and eyed the bush suspiciously. After a few moments she screached loudly and divebombed the bush with her talons out, and began pecking and scratching.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!, ARIEL STOP, IT'S ME!" shrieked a familiar voice.

Ariel instantly stopped and stepped back as a Swimmer emerged from the bush. Both Leaf Eaters gasped in shock, it was none other than Ruphus.

"R-Ruphus!" gasped Ariel in shock, "It's you, you've come back."

"Ruphus!" said Sura in astonishment.

The two Swimmers stared at each other in shock for several minutes, before suddenly crying out in joy and running towards each other. When they reached the middle of the stream the couple embraced in a loving hug. They twirled and laughed in delight before Sura pulled him into a long kiss.

Ariel watched this heartwarming scene and smiled while wiping a few tears away.

As Sura looked into her mate's eyes, she felt an old pain and anger assert itself.

Without warning Sura pushed Ruphus who fell on to his knees. She then screamed in fury and began punching and kicking every inch of him that she could reach, with tears streaming from her eyes. Ruphus didn't fight back or beg her to stop.

"YOU... UNIMAGINABLE... BASTARD RUPHUS!" she yelled as she punched him in the face.

Ruphus fell to his knees and to the Big Mouth's suprise he was crying, "Oh Sura!" he sobbed.

"You have not been here for nearly two months... and... and... you have not been here for me, for my children." cried Sura.

"Our children." said Ruphus, sounding guilty as he looked up.

"Do you know how much pain you have caused for us?" asked Sura in anguish, "Everything you've missed. Oh and Ducky has now been kidnapped by Pterano."

"What!" exclaimed Ruphus in horror, Ducky's been kidnapped by that stinking Tar-Pit who got half the herd traveling to the Great Valley killed!"

"That's correct," answered Sura in a distraught voice, "Pterano and these two Flyers are after some Flying Rock that Littlefoot saw that he believes is some Stone of Cold Fire. But like you'd care since she's friends with a Sharptooth."

"I'm so sorry!" apologised Ruphus as he closed his eyes and held his Mate's hand, "I've never done anything so stupid in my life."

Sura gasped, "You think simply saying sorry will fix everything?" she asked.

"No!" said the male Swimmer, shaking his head, "I never wanted to be away from you, or the kids. Ducky is my daughter and i'm so proud of her."

Sura's expression soffened, "Why did you come back?" she asked quietly.

Ruphus looked at her, "You know why dear, I want a second chance, a chance to redeam myself." he said.

Sura beamed in delight, she and Ruphus then hugged each other while crying tears of joy.

"I hate to break up the happy reunion, but i've just remembered something," cried Ariel in alarm, "Petrie never showed up for lunch and I can't find him anywhere."

Sura and Ruphus looked shocked, before they could say anymore, they heard panicked voices.

"LITTLEFOOT!, LITTLEFOOT WHERE ARE YOU?" shouted Grandpa Longneck in concern.

"CERRRRRA!" bellowed Mr Threehorn in alarm.

The others watched as the two Longnecks and Threehorn approached them, their eyes widened in shock as they spotted Ruphus.

"Ruphus, you're back!" cried Grandma Longneck in suprise.

"It's great to see you too." replied Ruphus, "Have you seen Petrie anywhere?"

"No we haven't," replied Topsy, "And Littlefoot and Cera have gone missing too."

Ariel looked to the Swimmer couple with sympathy, "I don't want to have to tell you this but I can't find Spike anywhere either!" stated Ariel, earning her a worried look.

Merri then arrived with Sura and Ruphus's other kids just as dull grey Sky Puffies filled the sky and Sky Water poured down from the sky.

"Nothing seems to have changed much since I was last here!" said Ruphus.

The Swimmer children squealed in delight as they spotted their dad and instantly leapt on him, bowling the Swimmer over and making him laugh as they nuzzled him.

"Ohhh, it's great to see you all too!" cried Ruphus happily as he returned the nuzzles.

All of the Adults then went and gathered in the Rock Circle, along with all the Far Walkers, but the two strange Rainbowfaces made no appearance. By this time, Sky Fire was streaking across the sky and a strong wind was blowing throughout the Valley. Ariel had went to look for the kids and landed haphazardly on the ground due to the wind.

"I can't find the little ones anywhere." yelled Ariel over the wind.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Grandma Longneck in horror, "They must have gone after Ducky themselves."

"Of course they did!" stated Sura, "They saw us just standing around arguing with Mr Threehorn here."

"Are you saying this is all my fault?" askedd Topsy in outrage as Sura, Ruphus and Merri glared at him.

The Threehorn faltered as all the adults in the circle glared at him. "Ohh... well what do we do?" he asked.

"Find another Flyer to help you!" said Grandpa Longneck to Ariel, "And hurry!"

Without even hesitating, Ariel took off and flew off.

"Please find Ducky." pleaded Sura in a scared voice.

"Don't worry dear they'll find her!" assured Ruphus as he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"And i'm sorry Sura about what I said before," said Mr Threehorn, "It was wrong of me not to send someone."

"That's okay Mr Threehorn, I forgive you!" answered Sura.

"We're all here for you you know!" stated Grandpa Longneck.

The Swimmer smiled as she saw that all of her friends and family were there for her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt much better.

"Thank you all for being there." said Sura.

* * *

Ariel flew across the Great Valley. Most Flyers she'd met were to scared to leave their hmes due to the storm. The Flyer was begining to loose hope when suddenly she spotted a massive Flyer perched on top of a rock.

"Excuse me!" yelled Ariel, "Can you help me please, it's urgant."

The large Flyer turned to face her and gave her a warm smile.

"Must be pretty urgant to be out in this," remarked the Flyer, "What's the trouble?"

"My Son and his friends are lost out there in the Mysterious Beyond," explained Ariel as she landed on the rock, "Please!, you've just got to help me find them!"

"Children lost in the Mysterious Beyond," cried the Flyer in alarm, "Of course i'll help. Just follow me and tell me when you spot them."

"Oh thank you so much!" said Ariel, "The name's Ariel.

"Flapper's the name!" greeted the big Flyer, "Pleased to meet you!"

The two Flyers then headed out on their mission, Ariel was feeling determined to make up for her mistake.

* * *

 **(AN) Well that was this short one-Shot, I hope you've all enjoyed and remember to read and review.**

 **Credit goes to Beucephalis for the dialo from the Swimmer Trial.**

 **Also credit goes to Keijo and Rhombus for use of certain elements from The Seven Hunters and torn Apart.**

 **This is TimeLordMaster108 signing out. I hope you all have a happy New Year and i'm posting this now so that it will be the last LBT fanfic of 2018.**


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